Adding a new twist to the medical mystery surrounding the world's most famous corporate executive, Apple CEO Steve Jobs received a liver transplant about two months ago, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Friday night.

The newspaper said Jobs, who is out on a six-month medical leave for an undisclosed illness, is recovering and is expected to return to work later this month as Apple has previously said, but that he may work part time for a while after his return.

"Steve continues to look forward to returning at the end of June, and there's nothing further to say," Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton told the Journal.

The newspaper reported that some company directors knew that Jobs, 54, who was also treated for pancreatic cancer in 2004, had the surgery, which took place in Tennessee.

Jobs took the leave earlier this year after saying that treatment for a hormone imbalance was more complicated than he expected. He said at the time that he expected to return to work this month.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, has been running the company on a day-to-day basis since Jobs announced his leave in January. A source quoted by the Journal said Cook may take a "more encompassing role" and may be appointed to Apple's board of directors.

The Journal also reported that board members have been updated on Jobs' condition, part of an agreement made before the CEO went on leave.

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While he has been out on leave, media reports have indicated, Jobs has remained intimately involved with key decisions at the company, which has introduced a wave of new products since January, including the iPhone 3G S, which went on sale Friday. He has even been to Apple's corporate headquarters in Cupertino, the Journal said.

After Jobs revealed in August 2004 that he had received the treatment for pancreatic cancer, he said the cancer had been successfully addressed.

More recently, though, concerns about his health have risen anew, sparked in part by his noticeable weight loss over the last year. Apple's stock seesaws at every report or rumor about his health, leading some investors to question the limited nature of the company's disclosure about his medical condition, which the company has sometimes described as a personal matter.

By some accounts, Jobs accounts for a quarter of Apple's market value.

The issue of Jobs' health sparked some controversy in January, when within the course of a week the company announced he had a hormone imbalance that was "simple" to treat, but later Jobs issued a letter saying he would take the leave he is currently on.

According to the Journal, Jobs may have had the surgery in Tennessee because its waiting list of patients is shorter than other states. There is no residency requirement for transplants.

William Hawkins, a doctor specializing in pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, ﻿told the Journal that the type of slow-growing pancreatic tumor Jobs had will commonly metastasize in another organ during a patient's lifetime, and that the organ is usually the liver.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, the organization that oversees the transplant network in the United States, the five-year rate of survival for liver-transplant patients is 73.6 percent for livers from dead donors, and 76.1 percent for organs from live donors, who provide a piece of the liver.